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SPORTS INFORMATION—2008
SPARTAN FOOTBALL DOMINATES UAA AWARDS...
CLEVELAND, OH (November 24, 2008) - Case Western Reserve University claimed three-of-four of the University Athletic Association’s (UAA) big football awards and received numerous all-conference selections this afternoon as the UAA coaches held its annual end of the year business meetings in Cleveland, Ohio. The announcement was officially made later on the UAA website.
Spartan junior quarterback Dan Whalen (Willoughby, OH) was named the Offensive Player of the Year, junior defensive back Bobby Bott (Grafton, OH) was named the Defensive Player of the Year, and Case Western Reserve Head Coach Greg Debeljak and his staff were named the Coaching Staff of the Year (Marcus Macalla, Dereck Slesh, Jerry Schuplinski, Dave DiCarlo, Mickey Iliano, Jim Michals, Mike Jones, Ryan Jones, James Rosenbury, Ben Taylor, Mike Tuertscher).
The Spartan coaching staff and Whalen earned these honors for the second straight year, while Bott was the UAA Rookie of the Year in 2006.
“It’s [coaching staff of the year] definitely not a one-man award or a one-year award,” Debeljak explained. “It speaks to not only the work we did this year, but over the last four or five year with recruiting and doing what we thought was best in getting the program to where it is right now.”
“It’s a great honor… this league is full of great coaches,” Debeljak continued. “I really have a lot of respect for all the other teams’ coaching staffs, so to win two years in a row, and for it to be voted on by your peers, it is really special.”
The Spartans football team completed its second consecutive undefeated season (10-0, 3-0 UAA) in 2008 and currently has a 21-game regular season winning streak. Case Western Reserve began the season ranked as high as No. 10 in preseason polls and during the year was ranked as high as No. 8. The Spartans also repeated as UAA champions, their third overall, and made their second straight NCAA Division III playoff appearance.
Whalen had an incredible season, leading Case Western Reserve with his arm and legs to a conference-leading 37.8 points a game. He accumulated 2,192 yards through the air on 163-of-265 passing (61.5-percent), throwing 17 touchdowns and only five interceptions on the season. He also scrambled for 271 yards on the ground and was second on the team with six rushing touchdowns. His 148.4 efficiency rating was the highest for a starting quarterback in the UAA.
“He was a unanimous choice and it was the easiest vote,” Debeljak said. “He has just been such a dominate figure this year. The thing about Dan is that a lot of people see the huge plays he makes- and he certainly does make big plays- but they don’t realize how few mistakes he makes. For as big as a risk taker as he is, he doesn’t turn it over much.”
On the other side of the ball, Bott looked like a wide receiver at times, hauling in seven interceptions on the season, which was just one short of the school single season record. Bott returned those interceptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns, including a 35-yard return score against conference rival Carnegie Mellon in week nine. Bott also recorded 15 passes defended, eight pass breakups, and a forced fumble on the season. He showed big-play ability on special teams, returning 12 kicks for 307 yards and a touchdown.
“Bobby has gotten better ever year and he plays defense the way our coaches teach it,” Debeljak explained. “He doesn’t freelance… he plays with tremendous technique and has a great understanding at what we want out of him as a corner. It’s really hard to dominate a game from a corner position because they can just throw away from you and do things to take you out off the game. But his stats show how huge a force he was.”
In the end, the Spartans had 12 first-team honorees, seven second and three honorable mention selections with junior linebacker Jeff Brown (North Olmsted, OH) and sophomore kicker Sam Coffey highlighting the list.
Coffey made 9-of-13 field goals in 2008, including a 44 and 45 yarder (career long). He set the school record for extra points (53-of-55) and led the UAA in scoring with 80 points. Brown had a team-high 87 (3rd in UAA) tackles with 14.5 coming for a loss. He also had three sacks, two interceptions (one for a TD) and a fumble recovery.
“Jeff Brown was also nominated for the defensive Player of the Year award by another coaching staff,” Debeljak said. “That is a great compliment on Jeff’s ability and the type of year that he had.”
On offense, the Spartans garnered 12 awards:
1st Team All-UAA: OL Ryan Breon (Barberton, OH), OL Marcus Kluczynski (Erie, PA), WR Shaun Nicely (Willoughby, OH), QB Dan Whalen (Willoughby, OH), and RB Greg Meyer (Clearwater, FL).
2nd Team All-UAA: OL Tony Opperman (Pickerington, OH), OL Chris Center (Cincinnati, OH), TE DJ Suitca (Homeworth, OH), WR Zach Homyk (Chicago, IL) , WR Ryan Kolesar (Mentor, OH), and FB Corey Checkan (Georgetown, PA).
Honorable Mention All-UAA: RB Bill Deitmen (Mentor, OH).
On defense, the Spartans garnered nine awards:
1st Team All-UAA: DL Dale English (Middleburg Heights, OH), DL Gian Genovesi (Englewood, OH), ILB Jeff Brown (North Olmsted, OH), OLB Ben Chlebina (Uniontown, OH), CB Bobby Bott (Grafton, OH), and S Mike Pelyak (Newton Falls, OH).
2nd Team All-UAA: DL Brian Calderone (Broadview Heights, OH).
Honorable Mention All-UAA: DL Jake Mey (Brook Park, OH) and S Brad Paramore (Garfield Heights, OH).
On special teams, the Spartans garnered two awards:
1st Team All-UAA: K Sam Coffey (Middletwon, OH).
Honorable Mention All-UAA: P Dan Whalen.
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